House Status:
Senate Status:
Senate Status:
Minutes for HB2695 - Committee on Water
Short Title
Allowing a majority of eligible voters in a groundwater management district or an area for a proposed extension or reduction of a district to petition the chief engineer to extend or reduce the territory in a groundwater management district.
Minutes Content for Tue, Feb 20, 2024
Representative Minnix opened the hearing for HB2695.
Chris Waggoner, Revisor of Statutes, provided a bill brief, (Attachment 1).
Proponents
Frank Mercurio, Professional Engineer, Syracuse Dairy, (Attachment 2), expressed his frustration with GMD3's efforts in water conservation and it's responsiveness to dry land farm operators.
Written proponent testimony only
David Walker, Land Owner, Groundwater Management District 3, (Attachment 3).
Neutral Oral
Lane Letourneau, Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water, (Attachment 4). Mr. Letourneau, stated that no water right holder will lose their water rights without due process. There should not be concern about a Water Management District being arbitrary about who gets or loses water rights.
Opponent
Tim Boese, Manager, Groundwater Management District 2, (Attachment 5). Mr. Boese believes the bill will erode the power of the board and its ability to manage groundwater conservation. A petition to the Chief Engineer directly challenges the boards ability to manage the day to day operation due to the potential reductions or addition to district size.
Katie Durham, Manager, Groundwater Management District 1, (Attachment 6). Ms. Durham was concerned about how the bill may hinder conservation efforts. Land owners may choose to opt out of required Locally Enhanced Management Areas (LEMA's), as opposed to participate in conservation efforts.
Orrin Feril, Manager, Groundwater Management District 5, (Attachment 7). Mr. Feril is not certain that this proposed bill will address any issues in his Groundwater Management District.
Shannon Kenyon, Manager, Groundwater Management District 4, (Attachment 8), (Attachment 9). Ms. Kenyon believes the bill could make it difficult to manage conservation efforts. Moving the groundwater issues to a state level agency will make local conservation efforts more challenging. Ms. Kenyon believes the issues the bill is trying to address are limited to Groundwater Manager District 3. The problems need to be addressed locally on a district by district basis.
Written opponent testimony only
Mark Rude, Manager Groundwater Management District 3, (Attachment 10), (Attachment 11), (Attachment12).
Kent Askren, Policy Director, Kansas Farm Bureau, (Attachment 13).
Chairperson Minnix closed the hearing on HB2695.
